Lake Mungo (Australia) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Lake Mungo (Australia) - Term Paper Example Presently the main attraction of the Mungo National Park, Janesoceania.com described the landscape as being stark, silent, desolate and often eerie sand sparse only resurgent vegetation and the spiny hard pitted crinkled and fluted dunes and ridges can look like a moonscape. (Cited by K.K. Hirst, About.com) The lakes dried up around 14 000 years ago and are considered to be an extraordinarily rich source of fossils. The quality and quantity of evidence pertaining to the landforms, animal life and environmental conditions during the last ice age are of the highest calibre, in part due to the alkaline rather than acidic quality of the soils. Discovered in the 1960s, the site has been excavated by geomorphologists and archaeologists to establish both the chronological and geologic age and status of its deposits. The remains of extinct creatures such as; Tasmanian tigers, giant, short-faced kangaroos and a strange oxen-sized animal called a zygomaturus - have been found. Crucially, carbo n dating has indicated that Aborigines inhabited the area 40 000 years ago, making it the site of the oldest known human occupation in Australia. These inhabitants benefited from the lake significantly. Freshwater shellfish and other aquatic fauna inhabited the lake, and many large trees grew around its margins; outlines of their branching roots have been fossilized and preserved by calcium carbonate. Waves driven by the westerly wind created a crescent-shaped sandy beach (a lunette) on the eastern lee shore. This dune consists of the Zanci, Arumpo, Mungo and ‘golgol’ units, named after local pastoral properties.  Ã‚   Inhabitants gathered mussels, Murray cod and golden perch from the lake compared to wallabies, rat kangaroos and emu eggs that they collected from their surroundings. The diet of the hunter-gatherers at Lake Mungo was varied and rich in protein. They ate the western native cat, the brown-haired wallaby, the hairy-nosed wombat and various other small ani mals and bird. Remains of these creatures have been found in ancient fireplaces, together with numerous broken emu shells. Their presence indicates that people were camping at Lake Mungo in the spring, when emu eggs hatch. In the heat of summer, people would have stayed close to the plentiful fresh water and shellfish of the lakes. In the cooler winter, they probably spread out away from the lakes onto the arid plains and hunted land animals, thus conserving the lake's food supplies for the harsh summers. Such a pattern of exploitation and seasonal movement is characteristic of Aborigines in arid regions, and was observed in the Willandra Lakes region in the nineteenth century. (Janeoceania.com) The number, size and species of fish remains in sites have been identified by comparing their otoliths, or ear bones, with those of modern fish in the same region. Seventy per cent of fish caught in the Pleistocene Willandra Lakes were golden perch (Petroplites ambiguus). The large numbers o f perch at the sites, which dated between 22 000 and 26 000 BP and were each believed to result from a single event, from tightly restricted size ranges, which strongly suggests the use of gill nets at some sites and traps at others. Fishing with fixed gill nets is a highly selective process: it tends to catch fish of the same species and age. Nets were probably set at the time of a spring spawning run, when the fish migrate up the rivers in large numbers. Golden perch are difficult to catch

Since vocabulary development Essay Example for Free

Since vocabulary development Essay Since vocabulary development is an active, ongoing process for children during these years, helping them increase the size of their vocabulary should be an integral, ongoing part of any school curriculum. As suggested by the research cited above, curricula for vocabulary development should concentrate on introducing new words into the classroom and using a variety of teaching methods to ensure that students can grasp the meaning of the words and remember them. Often, this does not mean that teachers need to drastically change their curriculum rather they just need to make sure that whatever their lesson is, it includes a focus on vocabulary. Ive incorporated ideas suggested from the research on vocabulary acquisition, and the teaching recommendations of Baumann Kameenui (1991), and come up with a list of strategies that is key for 3 5 year olds. 1. All curriculum areas should be structured with an eye towards introducing unfamiliar words within that subject area. Teachers should provide definitions or contextual clues to help children figure out the meaning of words, and they should use them often. Students should have the opportunity to use them in the context of the work they are doing. For example, if the teacher is doing a unit on animals and teaching the children the names of different animals, the children might have to pick an animal they like best and draw it. The children could then dictate stories to the teacher that could get written on the picture, or they could make a picture book with pictures of a number of different animals and then tell the teacher the names of all the animals. 2. The teacher should plan to read stories that contain unfamiliar words and then plan a number of activities that give the children the opportunity to use the words. This would include having a discussion of the unfamiliar words, having an analytic discussion of the story, providing opportunities for the students to use the words again by retelling the story in their own words, having students draw pictures that illustrate the word or the story, or having the students act out the story or do a puppet show. 3, The teacher should try to expose students to a variety of oral language, such as songs, poems, stories, non-fiction, etc.  4. A rich conversation/discussion life should be developed in the classroom so that children have the opportunity to hear unfamiliar words and use them in discussions. The children should be given plenty of opportunities to express themselves in general and to use new words. This can include telling stories, acting stories out, singing, reciting poems, playing games, etc. The children should be involved in analytical discussions and the teacher should have small group discussions with the children when possible. 5. The children should be taught strategies for using contextual or visual clues to try to figure out what a word means.  6. Since the home is just as important as school for vocabulary development in these early years (Snow, 1993), ways should be found to involve families in the learning process as much as possible. Studies have shown ( Segel, 1994; Toomey and Sloane 1994) that most parents are interested and willing to learn techniques to help their children learn. At the beginning of the school year, there should be a meeting and information sent to parents to explain the effort to increase the vocabulary of the children. Parents should be informed of the important role they can play and how they can participate throughout the year. The meetings should explain the rationale of this teaching strategy and show parents how to read with their children and highlight new vocabulary and engage them in analytical discussions. Depending on how much time the parents have, the children would bring home their work or a book every night ( or as often as agreed upon between parents and the teacher) and read with their parents or tell their parents a story that they drew or maybe sing a song that they learned, or parents and children could create a story together that the child could bring into school. Parents could be invited to school on a regular basis to see how the teacher works with the children, so that they have a better idea of how to do that at home. Parents could also be invited to read with their children in the classroom at the beginning or end of school for 15 minutes or so. The role of technology in instrucation Media is ideally suited to support this kind of instruction. Since, for the most part, children cannot read at this age, they must rely on the adults around them for the rich oral environment that will help build their vocabulary. This is not the same for older children, who can read independently and look up the definitions of words. The extent to which young children are involved in a rich oral environment, then, depends on the time the adults around them can spend with them, talking and reading to them. The introduction of media allows the child to spend significantly larger amounts of time hearing stories (which can be repeated over and over), hearing rare words, and creating their own stories, both in the classroom and at home. The role of the media, in this case, is to act as a supplement, not take the place of the adults. It is to extend and reinforce the teaching and analytic discussions in the classroom. Children cant have analytic discussions with computers, but they can use the computers and other media to hear stories and words again, and draw or dictate their own stories. The media is also a key element in introducing and maintaining active vocabulary acquistion in the home. The media can be a real help for parents. If the child can bring the media home, parents and children can, for example, watch something together and the parent can discuss it with the child. If the parent is busy, the child can still watch and get the benefits of the additional exposure without having to wait for a parent to be free. Additionally, if a parent does not have strong reading skills and/or is not a native English speaker, they may find it too hard to read to their children. They might find it a lot easier to listen to an audio tape or watch a video of a story with their child.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "You are a very special person - become what you are." These words encourage us, the graduating class of 2012, to recognize the goodness and potential in each and every one of us and to go out and excel in the world. We are a diverse group of different aspirations and backgrounds, bound for different corners of the earth to carve out our won individual niches. Before we leave behind Lee Falls High School and each other, we must ask ourselves how we have become who we are. Most of us have grown up in this town. We have known each other for many years, gone through the school system and interacted with the community. We have been labeled by the press as inhabitants of "Cranktown" and "Methville," but the community has rallied to fight the problem. This same community is the true spirit of where we come from and who we are. It is the same community that sees generations of change and is always willing to stretch its hands out to help those in need and to honor those deserving. We live in a unique community, though we may not realize it, a...

Rhetorical Devices in Great Gatsby

Gatsby Essay Honors English II Asura Louise Osborne In the 1920’s, the world was full of new inventions, dances, and drinks. The standards of even the most rigorously structured social classes were changed, allowing the rich to cut loose and throw elaborate and entertaining parties. Every day, the world was changing for the better. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work â€Å"The Great Gatsby† reflects these ideas, communicating through various rhetorical devices that the world is a magical place, and that even in times of sadness, anything is possible. Prior to the Jazz Age, growing up was associated with a loss of happiness and hope.During the 20’s, however, this standard seemed to change, pushing the perception of adulthood into something magical and frivolous. Fitzgerald reflects this in the archetypal portrayal of a city, describing it as â€Å"in white heaps and sugar lumps†. White is an archetype for purity, innocence, and hope. It illuminates the hope that the young adults living in the 1920’s felt, as well as the innocent parties they danced at, innocent not because of what took place in them, but because they were blissfully unaware of the harsh realities that existed elsewhere in the world.Happiness is also communicated in the use of the word â€Å"sunlight†, because the sun is an archetype for energy and hope. Through the personification of the city â€Å"rising up†, it is illuminated that the roaring twenties came from seemingly nowhere, almost like a fairytale. The magic of the upper classes’ world was also portrayed in the hyperbole, â€Å"all built with a wish. † In reality, the city merely began as a wish, but Fitzgerald portrays it as something that sprung up from a thought.Potentially the most illuminatory literary device is the imagery in the sentence â€Å"its wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world. † The picture painted is one of excitement, hope, and perhaps most importantly, the creation of a wonderful world borne from fancy. In times of loss, a traditional coping mechanism is bargaining. This is generally portrayed as â€Å"If I do such and such, so and so will come back. † It is usually a time when the bargainer believes in part that anything is possible. F. Scott Fitzgerald dives into that idea when Jay and Nick become part of a funeral procession.One way he communicates the idea that anything is possible is in the juxtaposition of life and death, â€Å"A dead man†¦in a hearse†¦heaped with blooms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His diction also illuminates this concept through the use of the word â€Å"blinds†, suggesting that most people are blind to the presence of possibility. In addition to diction and juxtaposition, Nick’s reaction to seeing blacks in an affluent setting also illuminates that Fitzgerald is communicating through him, â€Å"Anything can happen now†¦anything at all. † Even in the presence of a â€Å"somber holiday†, the world is still coming up with new possibilities.The world is ever changing, which is one thing that makes life on Earth so exciting. All of the changes that are present today really began in the 1920’s though, a time of new ideas and hopes. F. Scott Fitzgerald led America’s run head-first into the Jazz Age, and gave future generations a peek inside what life was like at the time with his novels. In his book, â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, he uses many literary devices to illuminate the concepts that life is magical, and that even in times of sadness, the world is filling itself with new possibilities.

The Frightful Abuse of Human Rights

Violence or education as forms of oppression carried out by political groups in Latin America is a reoccurring theme as seen in Argentina and Cuba from earlier essays. Government sponsored â€Å"cloaks of fear† take over the nation and keep the common citizen subdued as seen in Argentina. The process of educating the common person so that he/she would not only understand, but be able to participate in political affairs was a major force in the Cuban revolution. In the 1980's, Central America saw both violence and education used as political devices to promote or prevent political change. The most common and horrific form of oppression in Central America is violence. Violence can be used to eliminate political competition as seen in El. Salvador â€Å"In November 1980 Alvarez and five top associates were killed by government forces, an act hat eliminated an entire cadre of reformist politicians† (Skidmore & Smith: 350). Another example of eliminating a potential threat to the government can be seen in the movie â€Å"Men With Guns†. In this movie a religious leader (Bishop Romero) with some control of people and their political thoughts was considered dangerous by the El. Salvadorian government. Therefore he was assassinated by the military in an attempt to silence his voice and maybe even spread fear throughout the country as others feared what would become of them if they spoke out against the government. This imposement of fear, was another method of using violence to prevent political change. Argentina is the most dominant example of government created ‘fear' as a weapon against the voice of the people. The acting government or Junta, randomly kidnapped citizens and offered no reason for their actions. In many cases the kidnapped (disappeared) were tortured and killed, their bodies and explanations for what happened never found. The actions of the Guatemalan government during its politically unstable period are a clear example of using violence and fear to repress change as seen in Skidmore and Smith (1997: 357) â€Å"One feature of this entire period†¦ was the frightful abuse of human rights. Paramilitary death squads most notoriously Mano Blanca and Ojo por Ojo, carried on a murderous campaign against political dissenters. No fewer then 80,000 people were killed or â€Å"disappeared between the 1960's and 1990†. Because people feared that if they spoke out against the government they would face death/torture, many would-be activists sat quietly as the government did whatever it wanted. The only weapon against this ‘cloak of fear' was to bring in the help of outside nations and expose the atrocities being committed. For example this is what the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo were famous for. They petitioned at a time nobody else would leave their house and they brought the attention of the United Nations and other human rights groups to the current situation in Argentina. However in the case of Guatemala, the government continues their oppression until they see fit to stop it themselves as illustrated by Skidmore & Smith (1997: 357-358): â€Å"The government bore at least indirect responsibility for these killings, but world wide protests did not bring much respite†¦By the mid-1980s the Guatemalan military judged their campaign against the Marxist Guerrillas successful enough to allow the election of a civilian president†¦ Under a patina of electoral democracy, the military force continues to predominate in Guatemala†. Violence does not have to be only used as a form of oppression. Violence is sometimes used as a form of combating represent by groups of revolutionary solders. These groups of indigenous (local) solders combine to fight for their political and social rights are called Guerillas. Guerillas and guerilla tactics are spattered all throughout the history of Central America. They live in the mountains or jungles and rely on the locals for food, recruits, and information. Guerillas typically share the same ethnic background and social class, these are the chains that link them together. They use violence and military strategy to combat the unjustness or oppressing governments. Another form of oppression in Central America is education and lack of it. Much of Central America is poverty-stricken and underdeveloped (Skidmore & Smith: 1997), this leads to a lack of literacy. By not having the ability to read and understand what is going on politically in their country, the common citizen lacks the knowledge necessary to participate in political affairs. Domineering governments do little to educate the common citizen because doing so would/could make them a dangerous adversary as seen in Hammond (1998: 15) â€Å"To acquire knowledge is to acquire power, or at least it is a necessary first step. Popular education fosters specific skills, personal growth, and critical consciousness among the poor and oppressed. Learning empowers poor people because they prove they can do something they were always told was beyond them†. Education can also be used as a weapon against oppression, as discussed in the book Fighting to Learn. Hammond (1998: 61) describes meetings between solders and their leaders where they discussed political issues and current events. Another issue often stressed in these meetings was the need to spread propaganda and knowledge into civilian communities. Educating the common people can produce many effects, all useful in combating an oppressive government regime. Knowledge and education expose people to multiple views of common issues, therefore allowing them to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. This creates a sense of political and social awareness that combined with the desire for change and the willingness to use violence can be an explosive combination in the fight against oppression.

lexington avenue essays

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Argumentative Essay Writing Tips

Argumentative Essay Writing Tips How to Write an Argumentative Essay? An argumentative essay typically consists of major points. However, the body paragraphs are the core part of the assignment. This is where a student is supposed to provide strong argumentation and evidence to the key points described in the work. The paper requires a considerable writing style, which appears to be the main challenge or writers. How to start an argumentative essay? A good thing about the paper is that students can generally choose a topic they like unless the instructor assigns it. Try to choose a topic you are good at. It is the only way to write something solid. You are supposed to be an expert or at least show off your expertise making readers believe that you are an expert. To achieve this, you need to do the following: Step 1 – Make a plan Having a clear plan or outline is the basis for the paper. The writing process will be time-consuming and daunting unless you have a clear plan. Try several variants, sketch the outline and choose the best bet. When you work out the plan, you already have a clear understanding of what to write about and in what way. Step 2 – Handle the creative block The creative crisis is a common issue for many amateur and immature writers. You will obviously face creative problems especially if you write this type of paper for the first time. Do not overload your brain with difficult objectives. Try to think clearly or simply have a rest not to be overwhelmed with the task. Keep your mind clear; make notes of everything that may come in handy. Step 3 – Benefit from critical thinking Once you are done with the plan and ready to write, it is high time we used critical thinking. Check all your notes and try to organize the key ideas bringing them to one place featuring logical connections. Make sure you stick to the plan. Add proofs and argumentations in accordance with the outlines. Step 4 – Revise the paper The major part of your writing work is done! Good for you! Now you need to make sure that the content is flawless from grammar and writing style perspectives. You need to edit and proofread the paper.   Double-check the text to make you feel safe. The slightest mistake will doom your work to failure. Step 5 – Let friends read your paper You’ve done a great job! A good idea is to ask your friends or relatives to read the essay and share their opinion. They can notice some mistakes or misconnections as well. Checking and editing are never enough when it comes to delivering high-quality argumentative essays.

Jobseekers How to Use LinkedIn to Optimize Your Job Search

Jobseekers How to Use LinkedIn to Optimize Your Job Search Are you maximizing LinkedIns tools in your job search? LinkedIn is consistently rated in the top 3 resources for job listings on the web (after Indeed and Glassdoor). Surveys have concluded that of all jobs sourced from social media, 89% of those are sourced from LinkedIn. So you can’t afford  not  to be making the most of LinkedIn’s job search features. This past week, LinkedIn posted an article about how to be a job search Ninja. Ive expanded on what LinkedIn shared: Here are my latest and greatest tips on getting the best possible results out of your LinkedIn job search. 1. Turn On Open Candidates Your first consideration when actively looking for a new position on LinkedIn is whether you would like to keep your job search confidential. The Open Candidates feature allows you to signal privately to recruiters that you are open to new opportunities. To turn this feature on, click on the Jobs tab and then on Update career interests. Flip the switch to On. But dont stop there. Update your preferences to search for jobs based on factors like geographic location, full-time or part-time, and company name. Open Candidates gives you access to hundreds of thousands of recruiters. It’s available in the U.S., U.K. Canada and Australia on both the desktop and mobile versions of LinkedIn, and there are plans to roll out the program globally. Ready to get started?  Log in here to change your settings. For more on the Open Candidates feature,  click here. 2. Use the Jobs Tab Under the Jobs tab, you will automatically see a list of jobs that might interest you, based on the keywords in your profile. I recommend that if you are a job seeker, you click on the Jobs tab daily to view LinkedIns recommendations. From this vantage point, you can filter your results further to meet your qualifications. To get to the available filters, click the blue Search button and youll see a list of criteria by which you can narrow your search, such as industry, skill level, and company size. (Searching by salary is only available to Premium members.) With all these options, you are in the drivers seat as you choose which jobs meet your specifications. 3. Utilize the Search Bar When you click on â€Å"Jobs† in the top menu, you will immediately see a Search bar. This is your window into the positions that interest you. When I searched using the Jobs Search bar for â€Å"Account Executive Digital Media† within 100 miles of Madison, WI, heres some of what came up: What  type of job are you looking for? Determine the search terms that are most relevant  for  you,   enter them in the search bar, and LinkedIn will provide a list of current positions which you can fine tune by location, company, date posted, job function, industry, experience level and title. Apply to the ones that best meet your goals and skill set! 4. Create a Job Alert If you want to conduct the same search regularly, click on Create job alert in the upper right-hand corner and you will be given an option to receive an alert daily or weekly for jobs that match your criteria. You can then conduct your saved search with one click from your Jobs page. Once you save a job, it will appear in the right-hand column: Click on a position that interests you, and you will see a job description, a count of the number of people who have applied through LinkedIn, and, most important, a list of your connections who work there. Be sure to reach out to those connections to ask questions about the company and their experience working there. Maybe they even know someone who can help you. Many companies have incentive programs for their employees to refer good candidates, so you might be doing your connection a favor by contacting them! 5. Apply, Track Share LinkedIn allows you to apply directly from a company website, and to save any jobs of interest for later (but be careful, they could disappear at any time). You can view a list of all the jobs youve applied for from the Jobs tab at any time (under Applied Jobs). For more on how to work with Applied Jobs, see the LinkedIn Help article,  Viewing Jobs Youve Applied for on LinkedIn. If you see a job that is perfect for someone else in your network, use LinkedIn social media sharing buttons to spread the word. 6. Let Companies Know Youre Interested One way to let a company know  you are interested in working for them is to follow the company on LinkedIn. Here are several advantages to following a company, courtesy of  WiserUTips: More visibility. Representatives at your target companies can see who their followers are. By being on their  followers  list, you’re telling companies that you are interested in them and you’re also getting your skills and/or services in front of them. Staying up-to-date. View all recent updates about your target companies, including company news, job openings, new hires, and recent employee departures. Making an impression.  Like and comment on posts about your target companies. Making connections.  Review â€Å"How Youre Connected.† Click the â€Å"See all† link to view 1st, 2nd  and  3rd  degree  connections at the organization, as well as former employees.  Use this knowledge to ask key people to help you land a job or make the sale. Showing your support. Providing recommendations for a companys products and services makes the company look good on LinkedIn and shows them that you care about their success. Hiring entities that use LinkedIn Recruiter can view those who follow their company. They will then consider you a warm lead and most likely check out your profile. You can follow up to 1,000 companies! The downside is that all your connections will also be able to see what companies you follow; so if you have an  ummm, overprotective boss, be careful about how you use this feature. 7. Use the Group Jobs Feature Another key location for potential jobs is the Job Conversations in your groups. After logging into a group page, click on the Jobs tab and you will see additional positions not advertised in the official (paid) Jobs database. From there you can explore and apply to specific jobs that interest you. 8. Use the Mobile LinkedIn Job Search App Keep up with your job search on the go with the mobile version of LinkedIn Jobs. Dont let that job offer sit in your inbox for hours while youre out networking! For Android users: Click here to get LinkedIn ® Job Search App for Android (Google Play) and log in to your account. Tap the grid icon in the upper right corner. From the sliding menu, select Job Search. From there you can search for new job opportunities, save your searches, create job alerts and apply. From the menu at the bottom, select â€Å"Activity† to see your recently viewed jobs, save searches, and keep track of where you’ve applied. You can sync your phone with your LinkedIn account for a seamless experience across platforms. For iOS (iPhone) users: Click here to get the LinkedIn ® Job Search App for iPhone (iTunes). iPhone users enjoy additional amenities with the Job Search App for iPhone. Search jobs, save searches, set up notifications, apply online and track jobs you’ve applied to. Click her for more about LinkedIn for mobile. The evidence, based on my own client base, is that more and more qualified job seekers are finding employment by diligently applying for jobs on LinkedIn. This is good news for both applicants and employers. Whether you are looking for a position or looking to fill one, LinkedIn is a powerful tool to achieve your intended result. If you are serious about finding a new job fast, research and apply for jobs on LinkedIn daily. And if you find you want more functionality than you can get with a free account, you might want to consider Job Seeker Premium to get more information on salary range, who is viewing your profile, and what your competition looks like. You will likely see results. I have one client who got 12 interviews this way, and a job! This article was adapted from my book,  How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile And 18 Mistakes to Avoid. For more on how to write a LinkedIn profile that gets you a job, get the book today!

Jack Welch leadership principles Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jack Welch leadership principles - Assignment Example On the other hand, situation theory assets that leaders makes the best decision depending on the situation on the ground whereby, different leadership may be adopted in different situations. Contingency theory asserts that there is no one style of leadership can suit in all situations because different situation may call for different leadership styles (Cherry, 2013). Trait theory asserts that, to be a leader one should possess some special leadership qualities that can help to influence, inspire and motivate others towards meeting the goals and objectives of an organization (Wolinsiki, 2010). In addition, management theory asserts that a leader should be able to supervise and motivate team members by rewarding them accordingly for better performance. Human relation theory asserts that a leader should be able to inspire and motivate members to see the significance of better outcomes. In above connection, participation theory involves encouraging top, middle and lower level employees to participate in decision making process (Cherry, 2013). Therefore, to be efficient and effective, a leader should possess some special traits. This study will put forth the most recent professional roles that one should possess as a leader and principles considered as strength. The study will further explain the impact of this principle to a leader and how those pri nciples considered as strength relate to aspects of emotional intelligence. Additionally, the study will explain specific steps to be employed in order to boast strengths as well as improve areas of development as a leader. Most recent aspects of my professional leadership role and principles strength The most recent aspects of professional leadership include; formulating plans, acting as representative of the entire organization, integrating individual and organization goals, soliciting support, acting as a guide as well communication role. This means that a leader has a role making plans on what to be done in order to avoid confusion and ensure seamless operations within an organization (Cameron & Green, 2008). Additionally, a leader should formulate policies that act as a guide to his or her followers when implementing organization plans. This may help employees to have emotional preparedness on what they are expected to do. In above connection, a leader has a professional role o f representing departments and entire organization inside and outside the organization. For example, during leadership seminars a leader should represents the entire organization. Leaders should communicate the objectives and the needs of the entire organization to the employees and other corporate entities. As a leader one should play the role of integrating employees’ personal goals towards implementing organization goals. In above connection, a leader should play the role of soliciting employees in lower levels of management to participate in corporate decision making (Cameron & Green, 2008). Additionally, a leader has a role of communicating organization goals to all employees as well as ensuring there is proper flow of information within all relevant departments. In addition, a leader plays a professional role of practicing three main leadership traits namely: sharing employees feeling, listening to their opinions as well as providing them with a

Written Business Communication (Peer Response #1) Assignment

Written Business Communication (Peer Response #1) - Assignment Example A proper management that would ensure systematic logging and planting of trees is an example. Regulated logging and plantation that would ensure sustainability of a safe percentage of the vegetation, based on scientific survey, would provide jobs for logging services and the plantation and management of growing trees and at the same time meet the interest of logging companies, authorities, and political stakeholders. The alternative further integrates your initial proposal but improves it by ensuring immediate implementation. In addition, the proposal has more benefits because it will offer opportunities for improving the vegetation, based on tourists taste and preferences, for more effective tourist attraction. New varieties of trees that can attract more tourists can be planted in the region to boost tourism and other improvements can be done on the area than when it previously had limited room for innovation. The proposal is based on the utilitarian concept that advocates for maximum benefit, of decisions or actions, to a majority of members of the society (Brooks and Dunn,

Canterbury Television ( CTV ) building in Christchurch Assignment

Canterbury Television ( CTV ) building in Christchurch - Assignment Example However, none of these earthquakes has caused havoc and loss of lives as did the earthquake of 6.3 on Richer that hit Christchurch on 22 February 2011. This aftershock reportedly claimed 184 lives in the city. However, CTV building was the most affected, something that raised many questions from structural engineers and the public at large. This is because CTV was the only building that collapsed from the earthquake, claiming 115 lives of the 184 people who perished in the entire Christchurch. The collapse of the building has been blamed on human error associated with poor design and construction. Several key-role players and stakeholders have been associated with the incident and its consequences, which this paper seeks to examine. In addition, the paper will analyze the management and organizational factors that might have been associated with the incident. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 The key role-players 4 The key stakeholders 7 Management and organization al factors associated with the incident 9 Conclusion 10 Recommendations 10 References 10 Introduction New Zealand is one of the European countries that are very prone to earthquakes. Seismologist attributes this to its proximity to seismic zone. Associated Press (2012) reveals that very powerful earthquakes have hit the country several times in the recent past. ... This is because CTV was the only building that collapsed from the earthquake, claiming 115 lives of the 184 people who perished in the entire Christchurch, according to Associated Press (2012). The commission formed to investigate the matter found out that the building might have collapsed due to poor design and construction. The commission also identified several key role-players and stakeholders that this paper seeks to examine. In addition, the paper will provide an analysis and evaluation of the key management and organizational factors linked to the incident, prior, during, and after the incident. The key role-players Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (2012) report claimed that showed that the CTV building incident on 22 February 2011 was extraordinary. This is after findings showed that the building collapsed from the earthquake due to human error. As earlier stated, an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit Christchurch on this fateful day killing 184 people most of whom peris hed from the collapsed CTV building, where 115 people reportedly perished. According to the royal commission report, CTV building collapsed due to poor design and construction. As a result, David Harding, the architect who designed the building becomes the first key-role player to blame for the collapse. Write and Greenhill (2012) reveals that the building did not meet the 1986 building standards when it was constructed. The investigation revealed several structural weaknesses in the design that caused the building to collapse upon being subjected to tension. Vervaeck and Daniell (2012) noted that the CTV building had poorly designed joints between beams and columns. This made the

HR Analisys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HR Analisys - Essay Example Similarly, it can affect the financial performance of this organization; however, this might vary from one state to the next depending on the HR practices that Organizations embraces in such states (Bauernberger, 2007). It is vital to recognize that the decisions that the company makes on who to hire, what to pay, what training to offer, how employees’ performance is appraised, and other credible HR provisions directly affect employees’ motivation and ability to provide goods and services that customers value. Consequently, Organizations, as an MNC, must consider such factors through the HR department so as to realize credible organizational performance. Generally, HR manager’s roles in this MNC might eventually affect its prosperity, market relevance, and financial aspects. The strategic HRM management practices chosen in this context incorporate recruitment, selection, training and development, compensation, employee relations, and performance management (Colli ns 5). However, three of them have been discerned in diverse ways so as to understand the novel HRM concepts that Organizations can establish and implement so as to remain relevant in the HR management arenas. They have been intertwined so as to emerge with a concrete management provisions that Organizations, through its newly managed HR department, should establish, implement and embrace to benefit the company. Organizations should implement various HRM management practices in order to remain relevant in the global market. Due to its production and marketing capacity, the organization demands novel HRM practices in the context of HR planning, recruitment of employees, selection criteria, training and development provisions, compensation plans, as well as performance management. Another credible provision is the establishment and ratification of diversity provisions within the Organizations’ workforce. Cultural diversity is increasingly being a

Compensation (Human Resources) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compensation (Human Resources) - Essay Example ion is simply the salary of an employee while indirect compensation is more different for it includes legal obligation programs such as health insurance, retirement programs, paid leave or housing. Benefits and rewards receive by the employee from the employer is the non-monetary compensation. According to Tatum (2010), in order for employees to be more productive and motivated, business should provide more detailed incentive – the total compensation package. The package should be well designed to attract, retain, and motivate competent workers in the organization. To decide on what component to be included in the compensation package is far more complicated than just deciding on the payment of employees. The expectations of the employees on what would their compensation package consist of, would be a pressure for the organization. The components of the total compensation package include total compensation (base pay and incentives), benefits, work-life balance and training, career and personal growth (Construction Business Owner, 2007). These components are needed for an organization to survive into today’s tough business environment. Base pay and incentives are usually the largest component and the most common of a compensation package. These are important being the introduction of employment to assure that employees have comfort in their lifestyle. Salary would be based on the role of the worker on how the role is being delivered while incentive usually refers to the payment for performance. Benefits are the second component that typically provides: medical benefits, dental plan, paid time off, holidays, social security and many others (Construction Business Owner, 2007). Giving benefits to their employees are adopted by over 80 percent companies today. This component is important to attract employees who are looking for long-term and stable jobs that would surely build loyalty in the organization. Another component of compensation package is the work-life

Titus Andronicus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Titus Andronicus - Essay Example The two sons are beheaded. Unsatisfied, she goes ahead and persuades her sons Demetrius and Chiron to rape Lavinia the only daughter of Titus. After raping her, they go ahead and chop off her tongue and hands so that she could not give them away to their crime. Eventually, Lucius, the only surviving son of Titus is prohibited from Rome. Nevertheless, he (Lucius) goes ahead and forms an alliance with Goths the enemy of Rome for purposes of attacking Rome. The new misfortune hits the tired, aged Titus with a great impact. Consequently, he starts acting awkwardly and everyone thinks that he has gone crazy. Given Titus awkward behavior, Tamora tries to capitalize on it via pretending to be the revenge figure, coming to offer him the needed justice on condition that he convinces Lucius, his only surviving son, to cease the Rome attack. Titus having faked his madness, lures her, captures her sons, murders them and creates a pie out of them. The pie is fed to their mother, after which Titus kills both Lavinia, his daughter, and Tamora. The main reason for Titus killing her daughter is to put an end to her suffering and shame over her rape. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to characterize the existing relationship between Titus and his only daughter Lavinia in Shakespeares Early Blood Titus Andronicus. In addition to that, I will give my own opinion about her killing (Shakespeare Sc i-iv). Play Analysis Titus Andronicus is the play tragic hero and the general of the Rome Empire. He is the father of Lucius and Lavinia. He spent his ten years fighting the enemies of Rome and winning reputation for his country. On the contrary, his heroic deeds have drained much out of him making him feel incompetent enough to lead his country despite the country’s desire to crown him the new emperor. First, he is held up by his countrymen as model of piety because of his staunch adherence to traditions. However, it is this strict reverence to tradition that inspires his enemies to stem up revenge against him. Being the play hero, he pursues his revenge to the end. Unfortunately, he dies in the process of seeking revenge. Lavinia is Titus Andronicus’ only daughter. She refuses to be made an empress by Saturninus because she had fallen in love with Bassianus. Chiron and Demetrius brutally rape and disfigure her in the forest. Eventually, she becomes mute and her presence on stage is quite horrifying. Robbed and deprived of her every means of communication, and her precious chastity, the play portrays her as one of the most incapacitated heroines. From the character analysis of Lavinia and Titus, it is evident that the two are very united as they seek revenge against those who have harmed them. Lavinia being unable to talk leads young Lucius, Marcus and Titus to a book giving description of rape, prompting his father and brothers to confirm that she was raped. To get the whole information regarding her rape, they hand her a stick so that she can identi fy who did the harm to her. Lavinia writes â€Å"Rape. Chiron. Demetrius.† This makes Titus seek revenge for their deed. Titus sends his young son Lucius to Demetrius and Chiron with a scroll and weapon describing the act (rape) in riddles. Titus revenge is engineered by his urge to bring justice to Rome. In doing so, he tells Demetrius and Chiron to their face that he knows what they did to her daughter

Compensation (Human Resources) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compensation (Human Resources) - Essay Example ion is simply the salary of an employee while indirect compensation is more different for it includes legal obligation programs such as health insurance, retirement programs, paid leave or housing. Benefits and rewards receive by the employee from the employer is the non-monetary compensation. According to Tatum (2010), in order for employees to be more productive and motivated, business should provide more detailed incentive – the total compensation package. The package should be well designed to attract, retain, and motivate competent workers in the organization. To decide on what component to be included in the compensation package is far more complicated than just deciding on the payment of employees. The expectations of the employees on what would their compensation package consist of, would be a pressure for the organization. The components of the total compensation package include total compensation (base pay and incentives), benefits, work-life balance and training, career and personal growth (Construction Business Owner, 2007). These components are needed for an organization to survive into today’s tough business environment. Base pay and incentives are usually the largest component and the most common of a compensation package. These are important being the introduction of employment to assure that employees have comfort in their lifestyle. Salary would be based on the role of the worker on how the role is being delivered while incentive usually refers to the payment for performance. Benefits are the second component that typically provides: medical benefits, dental plan, paid time off, holidays, social security and many others (Construction Business Owner, 2007). Giving benefits to their employees are adopted by over 80 percent companies today. This component is important to attract employees who are looking for long-term and stable jobs that would surely build loyalty in the organization. Another component of compensation package is the work-life

It is a research paper about the topic (Homeless Families) Essay

It is a research paper about the topic (Homeless Families) - Essay Example A majority of these people are thrust into the homeless state by life-altering events that were unexpected. Some tragic life occurrences such as job loss, domestic violence, family disputes, and loss of loved ones can lead to homelessness (Bassuk et al, 2010). Homelessness is by and large a three-pronged problem. It is affected by economic, political, and social factors. The state of homeless families exploded in the early 1980s when federal funds were withdrawn from social assistance and low-income housing programs. The programs were meant to cater for the mentally ill and low-income families. Lack of affordable housing and the rising gap between earnings have left many of families and individuals in America homeless (Nunez, 2000). Economic factors are a central cause, as are social factors such as long-term drug addiction, mental illness, and alcoholism which can contribute to homelessness. Studies show that at least 25 percent of homeless people suffer from a kind of mental illness (NHC 2006). Twenty percent of the homeless are also drug and alcohol addicts, and the lack of access to affordable care can leave them vulnerable to the problem for their entire lives. This paper evaluates various aspects of homeless families such as how hom elessness affects children, and what society is doing to alleviate the problem (Bassuk et al, 2010). The rate of homelessness among American families has grown extensively over the last two decades. Between 2007 and 2010, the number of homeless families rose significantly. In 2007, 30% of the homeless people were in families and the percentage changed to 35% in 2010. This percentage is, however, devoid of the proportion in the suburban and rural areas (Khadduri & Culhane 2011). The affected families experienced frequent moves while in search of employment and secure affordable housing. The turbulence resulting from the movement affects children, and they

Automobile and Cycling Essay Example for Free

Automobile and Cycling Essay Cycling is one of the oldest means of transport. Inventing bicycles was an enormous step in the history of transportation. Bicycles didn’t need horses or wains as a result transportation became much simpler and cheaper. Moreover the previously smelly and dirty towns turned into healthier and cleaner places. Nowadays, however, when there are several faster ways of travelling, is there any reason to ride a bicycle? Although in our more technologically developed days bicycle are rather old-fashioned way of travelling, it has certain advantages. To begin with, bicycles are much cheaper than cars and motorcycles so that a lot of people can afford to buy them. Moreover, cycling is a great, physically demanding sport. As a result it could be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle or even a balanced diet. If people used it only for go to work or school it would provide them enough movement to avoid weight problems. Finally cycling is very environmentally friendly because it doesn’t need fuel or electricity. On the other hand cycling as a mean of transport does have its disadvantages. It usually takes longer than other forms of travel. As a result it can be more tiring. In addition, riding a bicycle in the city can be a little unhealthy. Cities’ air is very polluted because cars and factories exhaust a lot fume and chemicals. Furthermore cycling can be dangerous also. In the heavy traffic violent and careless car drivers often cause accidents and if we aren’t enough careful we can easily get hurt. All things considered, although there are some disadvantages of cycling I believe it is healthier and more enjoyable than driving a car. It can be dangerous but it is a perfect method to keep ourselves fit. Furthermore, in our crowded cities travelling by bicycle often the fastest way to reach our destination.

The Marketing Planing Process Marketing Essay

The Marketing Planing Process Marketing Essay Just as a healthy skin requires the proper pH balance to flourish, a strong brand like NIVEA requires a marketing plan that must find the right balance to built consistency all around the world. Beiersdorf the German manufacturer has mastered this balancing act with all the skill of an Olympic gymnast. This has made NIVEA the most recognised skin and beauty care brand in the world NIVEA crà ¨me was first introduced by Beiersdorf in the year 1911. Beiersdorf, founded in 1882, has grown to be a global company specialising in skin and beauty care for men and women. NIVEA, one of the oldest and biggest cosmetic brands in the world has successfully transformed itself from a single skin care brand to a trustworthy and contemporary personal care brand for all family types. The brand stretched itself by sub-branding to many new segments, always nursing the core mother brand NIVEA. NIVEA brand has now extended to more than 15 products ranges extending from sun care to facial moisturisers, deodorants and shower products. Beiersdorfs (BDF) Cosmic division decide to have an eye the NIVEA brands growth since last few years. NIVEA is the largest cosmetics brand in the world and it competes against the major brands from the European markets. South and Central America, Eastern Europe, and Asia were the new targets of company to expand the NIVEA brand. NIVEA had created a number of new sub-brands that broadened the companys offerings. Sales in Beiersdorfs cosmic division is primarily driven by NIVEA, grew from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.4 billion in 1995 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3.8 billion in 2005.Source http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/ NIVEA is coming up with a new range of MEN care products NIVEA for MEN Q10 range. This report will start with a situational analysis and then will conclude with a marketing plan for NIVEA. SITUATION ANALYSIS Macro environmental factors for NIVEA are analysed to carry out the situational analysis. The PESTEL factors are: POLITICAL Government stability Foreign trade regulations and taxation policy Privatization and the Security measures For NIVEA and skin and beauty care industry the political factors can be: NIVEA as a skin care industry manufacture must produce safe products that do not contain any harmful substance or are harmful for the consumers. For example SAFETY ASSESSMENTS-The manufacturer or supplier of the cosmetic product is responsible for ensuring it is safe and each cosmetic must be assessed for safety by a duly qualified safety assessor before it is made available to the public.(Ref 1) Foreign Trade Policies and regulations over the imports/exports of products can act as a barrier for such companies. For example in countries like Iraq there may be high taxes on import of such goods or if the company plans to open a manufacturing unit in a country the political laws may not permit to do so The political challenge is that NIVEA needs to follow the all the different government leadership styles in various countries where it performs its operations. As in some countries the availability of raw material or some drug content to be used in manufacturing may not be allowed to produce or import. ECONOMIC Interest Rate Unemployment and inflation For NIVEA and skin and beauty care industry the economic factors can be: Due to the volatile interest rates and the slump in the financial markets in 2007 most of the companies had to face financial crisis. NIVEA also had to make sure that these factors do not affect the sales and lead to crisis. NIVEA has to abide by (The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988) and follow the rules set by Advertising Standards Authority. Their adverts should be clear and not mislead the consumers. The rise in the inflation rate resulted in a strong dip in the overall sales of the company. The pressure on prices generated by increasing competition in the premium skin and beauty care market resulted in reduced prices and hence reduced profits. This was a major concern in the company and also the industry. SOCIAL Population demographics Income distribution Lifestyle changes and Consumerism. For NIVEA as skin and beauty care product manufacturer the social factors could be: Consumers have become more cautious about their skin and the way they look. Men/Women both equally are paying more attention towards their looks and are keen to use the products that could help enhance their skins textures. The income distribution plays a very vital role, NIVEA has tried to target consumers at all the different levels from 18-60. Deodorants and other facial products are used by customers of 25-50 years of age irrespective of the gender. Men use after shave and balms to have smooth shaves and looks. On the other hand women use facial creams to have soft skin and glowy looking skin. Anti wrinkle and crà ¨me for aging skin is used to target customers between 40-60 and irrespective of the gender. Different age groups use different products for their beauty and needs. NIVEA has targeted women from 13-19 with its NIVEA Visage, NIVEA for MEN exclusive men products like shaving gels, roll on, after shave balms etc. A large range of products is available for women from 25 45 years of age from NIVEA. TECHNOLOGICAL Speed of technology Rates of obsolescence Government and Industry focus on technological effort For NIVEA as skin and beauty care product manufacturer the technological factors could be: The rate at which the technological advancements take place, companies like NIVEA also has adapted quickly and improved its innovation by using better technologies and doing a lot more research. It may be possible that due to environmental factors some changes may be done in technology to save environment. For example NIVEA continuously works with its Research and Development team to make products that more useful for consumers and least harmful for environment. Technological advancements can help NIVEA to work with better manufacturing processes and units. ENVIRONMENTAL Pollutant problems Waste disposal Environmental pressure For NIVEA as skin and beauty care product manufacturer the environmental factors could be: The ambitious Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety Management System at Beiersdorfs Chilean Affiliate is being successfully adhered to in practice. This was the result of the review of the Modules I and II during the first ESMAS audit in May 2007.(Ref 3) Many different Organisations for animals keep a track that in manufacturing of such products animal prosecution is not included or animals are not used for testing purposes. Some countries have even banned these methods and impose heavy dues on the companies who follow those practices. (PETA) In the 2009 reporting year, the audit team witnessed first-hand the quality of the environmental and occupational safety measures in place at four Beiersdorf locations. During the multi-day Environmental Protection and Safety Management Audit Scheme (ESMAS) audits, the team inspected and certified Beiersdorf plants in Spain, Mexico, Thailand and Indonesia. The results were a success: all production sites were in full compliance with the international ISO 14001 (environmental safety) and OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety) standards for environmental and occupational safety management systems. (Ref 3) LEGAL Consumer Product Safety Act (1972) Fair packaging and labelling act (1966) Federal Trade Commission Act(1914) Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act(1975) For NIVEA as skin and beauty care product manufacturer the legal factors could be: Legal factors may include government laws, labour laws that can affect an organization: There are many laws that affect the trade practices that all the companies have to follow, NIVEA also follows all the legal issues that do not violate any act. NIVEAS CURRENT MARKETING STRATEGY NIVEA FOR MEN promoted the new launches of its products through a mixture of above the line and below the line promotion. The use of sport was a key element here, NIVEA FOR MEN supported football events at a grass-roots level through its partnership with Power league to build positive relationship with men. This helped create strong Brand Affinity for NIVEA FOR MEN among men and drive the sales. Ref 4. Above the line promotion included television and cinema adverts, this reached a wide audience. By using links with sport, NIVEA FOR MEN aimed to build a positive male image associated with male facial skin care. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS NIVEA has a good reputation and brand name. NIVEA is a Global Brand with ability to act local. The Marketing staff with the skills to help promote the above mentioned products effectively. WEAKNESSES Target customer and product range relevance was still not established. The sales and marketing techniques used by NIVEA FOR MEN was not defined clearly. OPPORTUNITIES NIVEA FOR MEN saw a rise in market share, hence an opportunity to increase the market share. Product line can be extended to procure more market share. New products could be introduced as men started buying more advanced products. Women could be targeted as they but products for men. THREATS: Cost of products and sales promotions have become the drivers for sales. Risk of competitors, since some of them have substitute products for support. Improved RD have increased the costs of the products. Lack of innovative products for men. MARKETIN PLAN FOR NEW NIVEA FOE MEN REVITALISING Q10 RANGE NIVEA FOR MEN are coming up with NFM Revitalising Q10 Range, which would help them to increase UK male skincare market. In relation to the above, a marketing plan has been developed. Source- http://www.dsh.cn/en/images/resource02_pic1.gif Set Objectives Setting clear objectives results in a successful marketing plan that must fit overall strategy of the company. In terms of NIVEA their goals were clearly defined as to continuously increase the market share in all areas through qualitative growth and to further improve our strong earnings situation. They also intend to achieve these objectives by continuing to successfully implement their Passion for Success Consumer Business Strategy. (Ref 6) MARKETING OBJECTIVES To expand the current NIVEA FOR MEN To sell more and more NFM products to women. To create NFM brand image as a reliable, user-friendly and good value for money product and to strengthen the brand value. To create oneness in the brand. MARKETING STRATEGY Focus on product development combined with an emphasis on consumer needs is a key differentiator for NIVEA FOR MEN. Strategy would emphasis on promotion of NFM products using the right marketing mix. Choice of Markets: To grow its market share and develop its product range NIVEA has chosen product development as the growth strategy. NIVEAs researches have shown that men mainly wanted skincare products that protected the face after shave. Men are willing to buy products that helped calm and soothe irritated skin caused by shaving. So this is how NIVEA came up with idea to target MEN and develop products that could fulfil the needs of men all over the world. Sales of male skincare products have grown steadily since the launch for NIVEA for Men in 1998 and 2003. The market in 2008 was worth over 117 million pounds with male facial products worth 49 million pounds. (Ref 5) Segmentation: Nivea for Men has segmented its customers on the basis of age, gender and occupation. Gender NIVEA for Men as the name suggests is an exclusive product for men. The range contains all the male products like face wash, deodorants and roll-on, shaving gel, after shave balm, moisturiser, and shower gel. Age NIVEA for MEN the new range should be targeted for men from 18- 25, 25-35 and 35 55. Income- All NIVEA for Men products are not very highly priced, keeping in mind the target customers. But some rechargeable shavers are in the premium segment for NIVEA which is targeted on 25-40, young working professionals. Generally NIVEA has targeted customers who are working professional and they need to socialize in everyday life for their business and they need these products everyday. Shaving gels, post shave balm, roll-ons and moisturisers. Targeting: On the basis of segmentation we will target the current customers of NIVEA for Men those who have been using NIVEA products already. Secondly we will also try to capture new customers who are using the substitute products on the basis of value of NIVEA for Men products and effective prices. Brand Positioning : The NIVEA for MEN Revitalising Q10 range is for the skin care to look bright , healthy and revitalised. With competitive pricing as compared to the competitors NIVEA for MEN can create a unique position in market. The formula for Q10 range is unique which contains no alcoholic content which gives it an edge over the similar products from competitors in the market. So NIVEA for MEN can position itself as the only for men exclusive range with reasonable price adding value to customer both in terms of quality and money. THE MARKETING MIX http://www.netmba.com/images/marketing/mix/mix.gif The right combination of marketing mix that is Product, Price, Place and Promotion can provide a brand the right strategy to target its customer. Let us define the marketing mix for the new NIVEA for MEN Revitalising Q10 range. The NIVEA for Men is in the launch phase of the Product Life Cycle so the product boundaries and features must have a clear definition. http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study-the-use-marketing-mix-product-launch-87-303-3.php Product Customer Solution: The company has made the new NIVEA for Men range more effective and consumer-friendly. Research Work: To know what its customer wants NIVEA conducts researches through: Focus groups to listen to customer directly. Product testing with customers in different markets. Through their website a special section WHAT MEN WANT. Variety: NIVEA for Men has come up with the fuller range of products for men keeping in mind that what men want. It has NIVEA for Men eye roll-on, face wash, post shave balm, shaving gel and moisturiser. Quality: NIVEA for Men has come with a product range that provides unique quality of Q10 revitalising coenzyme that is very essential for skin. This provides NIVEA with a competitive advantage to beat the competition. Packaging: For Packaging NIVEA for Men can go for large packs which use minimum of plastic and that too recyclable. The packaging must include The packaging includes: Brand Name Instructions The Company Address Ingredients Safety Hazards Bar Code NIVEA has clearly understood the needs and wants of its male customers, there problems and so have come up with a complete solution to customers needs with the new NIVEA for Men Q10 Revitalising range of products. Place Convenience: For customers convenience it is important that the product is in range of customers that is easily approachable. Keeping in mind the target customers NIVEA for Men must aim to use as many as relevant distribution channels. Using distribution channels as B2B strategy so that the product reaches the point of sale. Main sales can be retained through large retail store and chains. Already NIVEA has different sources of sale for B2C like Boots, Tesco, Sainsburys, Superdrug, Waitrose, ASDA, Wilkinson, Morrisons, Body Care, and Savers.(Ref 7) Making availability of NIVEA for Men products at wide range of stores ensures the customer reach to these products hence customer convenience. NIVEA products are also available on AMAZON.co.uk so even more customers can be targeted through e-marketing and e-sales. Price Customer Cost : there are many factors like cost of production and transportation that affect how the product is finally priced in the market. As the product is for consumers so it must provide the right value for money to the customers in the market and attract them to buy these products. For NIVEA for Men in the launch phase NIVEA should follow the Market Penetration Pricing. The price of NIVEA for Men products would be low initially to attract maximum customers and capture a large market share. NIVEA for Men can also price its range on competitive base. As competition there are substitutes but are priced highly in the market so a lower price would help NIVEA for Men to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Promotion Communication: With promotion we can tell are customers that what we have for them and persuade them to buy those products. For promotion NIVEA for Men can implement two types of promotions. Direct Promotion With the direct promotion that are directly paid NFM can go for TV Advertisements, Newspaper Advertisements. Indirect Promotion NFM can organise events for B2C and trade fairs for B2B customers. With Public Relation NFM can go for Press Releases where NFM can target large audience. Sponsoring some events like sports, for example NFM can join the LONDON Olympics 2012 specifically targeting the male Olympic Games. NIVEA can come up promotional campaigns with mobile services company to send promotional texts to all their customers. Distribution of free samples at beginning stage of product launch. Association of the brand with social site like facebook and twitter. Implementation of the Marketing Plan This is the most important phase of a marketing plan. A marketing plan has a defined time so for the above plan we can recommend a time of 1 to 3 years which will include all the research work and later implementation. So the implementation would start with: Research Work: Primary Research from Surveys, Questionnaire and Focus Groups that will provide us with Qualitative data. Secondary Research from the existing data of company; the sale over the year and other promotional expenses. Financial Statements providing the budget for further market research and marketing plan. Forecasting the sales and the cost associated with it. We need to keep in mind the challenges we can face during the implementation of Marketing Plan. Customers may start avoiding the product in case of excessive promotion. Customers may perceive NIVEA for Men as a poor quality product as initial prices will be low due to the launch. Competitors may come up with similar range and price. CONTROL In order to properly control our marketing plan we should: Regularly monitor the progress. Is the plan working or not. Monitor the sales , revenue generated, Return on our investments, customer satisfaction levels through researches and repeat purchases. Employees must be rewarded for achieved objectives. Employees are the main working force behind the plan so employee satisfaction with appraisals and rewards must be done. Market and customer choices changes every minute so regular market researches would help NIVEA for Men to rate their product in market. Any plan needs time to succeed; short term failure should not be taken as the final result. The success of marketing plan depends upon company , people and a smoothened blend between both to achieve the targets. Knowledge of targets and strive to achieve them creates endless possibilities of success. Sample Advertisement- Ref -8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq70_xdZBxw CONCLUSION The main focus during the launch of the new NIVEA for men would be the mindset of the main target market. An efficient promotional activity along with sales promotion would be used for the launch. This will help to increase the market share and also would affect the overall sales of the NIVEA and the NIVEA FOR MEN range of products. NIVEA has realised that skin care and beauty products that were associated with women, is a thing of past. In todays world even men have started using these products and there is a major gap in the industry for men products. Hence NIVEA has come up with a all new mens range and get the maximum share in the market. Efficient advertisement in all the mediums will be used and so that will help further boost sales and increase the performance and quality perception in the minds of customers which will help also in the positioning product in the marketplace. CRITICAL REFLECTION Todays world is a digital world where a small number people can become voice of thousands and millions. So is the dynamic nature of marketing which has changed its face with changing global business environment. No more are the traditional methods of marketing followed. Marketing is totally customer centric where the aim is to get as close as to the customer. Companies have not limited themselves to a single state, country or a single continent. The greed for progress has made the companies go global. So has the marketing environment and need to market has changed as per the demand and change in customers who are spreaded globally. Companies change their strategies as per the country they are doing business in. For example Mc Donald does not provide beef or ham burgers in INDIA as it is against the choice of the customers. Keeping in mind the customers requirement the apt marketing plan is made. The plan whose outcome matches with what the customers desire. NIVEA as a company provides its customers with Innovative Skin and Beauty care. NIVEA has emerged as the most recognised skin and beauty care brands in the world. Keeping in mind what its customers want NIVEA does regular research work to provide the right value added product to its customers well then let it be NIVEA female range, NIVEA Visage or NIVEA for Men. Extensive Research and Development, wide range of products, top quality and environment friendly procedure and need satisfying products; these all act as a resource and capabilities of the organization which offers value to its customers. Its been an experience to develop a marketing plan for a company. With the development of the marketing plan I have come across the fact that marketing is a critical part of a business plan. Knowledge Gained With this assignment I have learned the minute details of marketing. Customers are the drivers of the market. How is a customer convinced to buy a product ? The use of different models to enhance the sales and give value to the product. VALUE TO CUSTOMERS Today most of the companies are dropping their brand value dramatically as they are moving away from satisfaction of customer needs and wants. The customers want best value for money and want to be loyal to their brands in this tough economic era. Nivea is continuously trying hard to adapt itself to customers need and offer value to them. They are doing so by launching new range of products and re-launching the existing ones. They are strategising themselves by reaching directly to customers and getting them to test new and improved products. They are focussing on the customers and are trying to create tangible human experiences across all marketing touch points. Their strategy states: Be honest about who you are and where you sit on the customer-focus spectrum Listen to your customers-what is good for your customers and if you are not valuing them what are you loosing. In this tough economic climate, resonate your customers and offer relevant value proposition. Hero your products in order to build ongoing relevance and value with the customers. Evaluate, Innovate, Listen and Communicate. The company focuses on the fact that they want their customers to be more of something that could play a role in the consumers life than selling a cure for a problem. They want their product to be an integral part of customers day to day life. They value their customers because they believe that the customers warm feeling towards the brand might turn into higher sales down the line. Providing value to customers is like putting money in the bank, this helps in repeat purchases, customer retention and positive word of mouth which ultimately leads to new customer acquisition. This helps the firm to secure their future in the market. The companies today are adding value to their customers because of the fact that Marketing strategies have changed. Today the focus point is the customer. The difference in todays marketing strategy and old marketing strategy has been stated below. OLD MARKETING SHORT TERM FOCUS. MARKETING MIX. PRICE AND QUALITY SENSITIVE CUSTOMERS. ALL CUSTOMERS EQUAL. MASS MARKETING. AGRESSIVE MARKETING. TRANSACTION PROFIT. NEW MARKETING LONG TERM FOCUS. INTERACTIVE MARKETING. VALUE CONSCIOUS CUSTOMERS. ALL CUSTOMERS NOT EQUAL. INDIVIDUAL MARKETING. SERVICE FOCUS. CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE. Value to customers lead to creating value for products and services. Nivea recognizes the role of its customers in developing its strategy. They believe that working on customers insight has led them to explore themselves beyond their existing comfort zone. LEARNING OUTCOME It is said that the more detailed information that has been collected and the more planning that has been done ahead of time, the faster and the more pleasant the trip. This works well for launch of any product by any company. One of the most fundamental features of any successful Business is creation and implementation of its business plan. We being the future entrepreneurs of tomorrow should have complete knowledge of the Start-Up Plans of any business and it was through this module that I learned about writing a Marketing Plan for any product in any business environment. The Marketing Management Module helped me learn ways to write a plan which should be both analytic and fundamental. It made me learn that the Business Plans requires a degree of expertise in Marketing Principles and Forecasting as well as the ability to gather and interpret relevant research data and formatting it the right way. Initially we just had theoretical knowledge about business plans but this module helpe d us think virtually and bring our knowledge into practical sense. Both module and the assignment proved to be very productive and helped me learn the essentials of a marketing plan. It helped me in bringing out the best through extensive research and exploring the data. A Marketing plan is the base of any business enterprise. Whether it is about launching a new product in the market or expansion of market of an existing product. A number of steps are involved in writing a Marketing Plan which should necessarily define the target market and should understand its needs as well. While doing this assignment on Nivea I conducted a clear and succinctive market research. I worked well on the collection of data and researched in depth on the techniques of writing a Marketing Plan which were taught to us in the Marketing Management Module. Today I have realised the fact that writing a Marketing Plan is a challenging job but taking up this one was worth the effort.  This was the learning experience of a lifetime.    A Marketing Plan runs the gamut from being creative to being pragmatic, but it should be written in a style which will be most receptive for evaluation. I managed to do the same by following all the steps involved in writing a Marketing Plan. Marketing Plan has the following elements which involve Executive Summary, Situation Analysis, Marketing Objectives, Target Markets, Marketing Mix, Marketing Budget and the implementation of the Plan as a whole. The first and the foremost step was introducing my parent company which is Nivea. The introduction defines as to what the company is and where will its product stand in the market. Next was Strategic Analysis of the company which was done using PESTEL analysis and SWOT analysis. SWOT made me understand the Strengths, the Weaknesses, the Opportunities which the company can make use of and the Threats which the company might face in the long run. The PESTEL made me realise the factors which affect the company in its establishment and the w orking. All these factors are very essential to keep in mind at the initial stages of the launch as ignorance of any of these might result in a number of pitfalls. The next step involved defining the Marketing Objectives of the new product which is to be launched. The marketing strategy helped me define why and how the plan would work in relation to all the factors influencing the business entity. I emphasised upon Product development of the new range and the Marketing Mix it would follow. This involved taking into account the companies resources, finances and controls. I tried not deviating myself from the path by keeping regular reality checks. These reality checks are very important at the time of making the Marketing Plans as this would help the firm overcome any pitfalls at the time of execution of the Marketing Plan. The last step was the implementation of the Marketing Plan in which I was sure as to what I was actually trying to achieve for my new series. I kept my central aim visible in order to minimise all the distractions and distortions which would frequently arise. Keeping the aim right is the key to success in the implementation of the Marketing Plan. To conclude I can say that I tried bringing together the Uniqueness and the Passion. Uniqueness so that people get what I want to offer them and Passion to enjoy selling what I want to sell. The Marketing Plan for this product would come into action soon and would help the product attain a good market position in the long run. This would surely help the product attract new customers and create wider market for the product. The brand name NIVEA would also be benefited by the launch of this product as this would add to its goodwill. I would conclude by saying that this assignment required a lot of effort but the effort proved to be fruitful. à ‚  

Prescription Drug Abuse in America Essay -- Prescription Drug Abuse Ep

When a person thinks of problems that haunt the state, mostly what comes to mind are drunk driving, the meth epidemic, or the bipolar weather, but our state has a crisis that is on the rise and catching the attention of the police force all over the state. Our state ranks high among all states with people, ages 12 and older, taking prescription pills without being prescribed them. (NSDUH) Many teens and adults can recall a friend asking them for their prescription pills or have witnessed someone taking these pills illegally. Throughout my life, there are many instances that I can recall from memory that deal with prescription pills and these instance changed or altered my life. People tend to think that prescription pills are safer than street drugs because they are made for people to take. But in one occurrence, my mother lost her best friend and my good friend lost his mother to the addiction with prescription drugs, which caused a downward spiral in her life. One might ask, what i s the state doing to stop this epidemic? One might also wonder what effects prescription drug abuse has on our city. My personal story and experience with the prescription drug problem started when my mother and I moved from Spain to the United States; my mother met her soon-to-be best friend, Regina. When I was a child, my mother never told me about the serious problem that Regina had: addiction to prescription pills. She wanted to shelter me from the problems it caused. Most common drugs that are abused are opioids: hydrocodone and oxycodone, depressants: diazepam, or stimulants: amphetamines, all of which Regina had been using for a considerable amount of time. (NIDA) Soon Regina’s family moved away to Florida and she told my mother that she had... ...H115/sr115-nonmedical-use-pain-relievers.htm>. (NSDUH) Griffin, R. Morgan. "Living With Chronic Pain: Treatments, Alternative Remedies, Exercises, and Tips." WebMD. Ed. Brunilda Nazario. WebMD, 09 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . (WebMD) "Statistics of Prescription Drug Abuse, Overdosing, Emergency Room Visits: Foundation for a Drug Free World." Statistics of Prescription Drug Abuse, Overdosing, Emergency Room Visits: Foundation for a Drug Free World. Foundation For A Drug-Free World, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . (Drug-Free World) "Prescription Drugs." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). National Institute of Health, Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. . (NIDA)

Challenge the Power of Government Essay

The Internet has recently become the object of detailed research. This research is being conducted in numerous areas of science, including politics. The claims that Internet threatens the power of government are becoming too frequent to ignore them; this is why it will be interesting to address these issues once again, and to objectively evaluate whether such claims have any grounds. Thesis statement: the power of the Internet does not challenge the power of government, but on the contrary, creates favorable conditions for promoting the governmental policies and political positions. The question of the Internet power and its possible impact on the power of physical governments is directly connected with the definition of Internet, its current functions, development, and opportunities which it provides to its users. The direct connection of Internet and globalization processes is viewed as the major challenge to the power of governments all over the world. This political position may seem correct and grounded at first glance. Going deeper into the issue, one will find certain misunderstandings and misconceptions, which relate to what real role Internet plays today. Lessig (2000) writes about Internet as the structure of norms, the power of which can be strengthened or disabled by its users. He emphasizes the fact that â€Å"Cyberspace is an architecture first. It is a platform that gets designed. It is constituted by a set of code – by software and hardware that makes cyberspace as it is† (Lessig 4). First, if the Cyberspace is a mere architecture, governed by the software and hardware, why do politicians raise the issue of Internet challenging the power of governments? It is hardly possible to imagine, that any hardware could challenge the power of any government in the world. Simultaneously, if the issue is relevant, the Internet cannot be called â€Å"mere architecture† (Lessig 4). It means that the current state of the Internet is something more than architecture. Possibly, it is the set of communicational, social, and other norms which allow the Internet users impact (or not impact) the power of government and other political structures. Thus, Lessig’s statement contradicts itself but deserves attention within the framework of the current discussion. Farrel (2006) discussed the issues of the Internet political impact in connection with the globalization processes. â€Å"Globalization, and in particular the rapid increase in the flows of financial resources and information across the borders, has important consequences both for policy interdependence and for the role of the state† (p. 354). While did the dissemination of cross-borders in the Cyberspace lead to the uncontrolled spreading of gambling, pornography, extremist political material, about which Farrell wrote, and how did this relate to the power of government? If the dissemination of cross-borders in the Cyberspace has become uncontrollable, does it mean that government is too weak to invent effective measures of such control? I would assume that the physical weakness of state governments and state policies to put the Cyberspace under control is more relevant in this discussion; there is no challenge to the power of government. Moreover, it is only partially a challenge to government’s power; those who view the Internet as the challenge to the political power of the government tend to admit its weakness. However, the situation is better to be described as follows: the power of the Cyberspace creates new conditions for the world governments to exercise their power and to invent new instruments of power. The only problem is that governments do not yet understand, how the Cyberspace issues should be addressed, but hopefully, it is the matter of time. The challenge, about which cyber libertarians tend to speak, should not be addressed as the striving to neutralize the power of government. This challenge should be equaled to the opportunity, which government should properly address in order to retain its power and to spread its control onto the Cyberspace, too. The Internet has initially been designed â€Å"as a technology that would be resistant to centralized control† (Boas 8). The absence of the centralized control was always connected with the already mentioned dissemination of the cross-borders in the Cyberspace (Farrell 354). This is why cyber libertarians try to convince the public that the Internet challenges the power of government. Let’s view the issue through a different prism. â€Å"In our transnationally linked and globally integrated world, both borders, and the attendant sharp distinction between the domestic and the foreign, are again losing meaning. In an interdependent global economy, basic issues such as unemployment and income inequality are no longer domestic problems subject to domestic solutions. Once more, it is far from clear, who is independent and who is not† (Kobrin 10). The argument to which cyber libertarians relate in their argument is rather weak in the light of the numerous international agreements, which regulate the globalization processes in the physical world. The bright examples of the international agreements (the GATT, the WTO, and the EU) create favorable conditions to assume that the Cyberspace can also be subjected to such agreements and regulations, if properly addressed by governments and other international organizations. Obviously, there is no challenge to the power of government but again, it is the vast area of opportunities to create a powerful set of political and legal norms to control the Cyberspace users’ behavior. The issue of territory and the elimination of geographical borders in the Internet can easily be compromised by the creation of international agreements and regulatory bodies. Such step will only prove the power of international governments. Stating that the Internet challenges the power of the Government is rather weak due to the inherent ambiguity of the power in general (Kobrin 15). In order to speak how and why the Cyberspace challenges the power of government, one should primarily determine what he (she) means under the word â€Å"power† – does it imply the possibility to tax the operations taking place within the e-commerce space, or the possibility to regulate and control the spreading of the extremist political information in the Cyberspace? â€Å"The Ukraine experience demonstrates that, under certain circumstances, online activists can affect politics in regimes where there us no thriving independent media sector. For starters, activist websites can become an alternative source of news and commentary in countries where traditional media are under state control†. (Drezner 3) Evidently, the discussion of the Internet creating challenges to the power of government can be held only within the environment, where the public trusts the blogs more than it trusts its own government. The political events in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries are the evidence of the government’s weakness and public mistrust. In these conditions not only the Internet, but any other instrument may serve the means of changing the political regime or challenging the government’s power. The Internet in these states challenges the power of the government due to the fact, that the government itself is incapable of governing numerous issues in the nation’s civil reality. The Cyberspace is viewed as the attempt to change the existing social conditions, but again, challenging the power which does not exist or is underdeveloped in the state is hardly possible. In the developed states, the self-regulation of the Cyberspace is far from being a challenge to the power of government. On the contrary, it is the means of aligning the needs and goals of the nation with its technological advancement. It has been mentioned, that the Internet is the vast area of opportunities for the national governments to create a set of norms and regulations, similar to the WTO and the GATT in the physical world. It is difficult not to agree to Farrell, that â€Å"private actors are increasingly serving the channels of influence, or the proxies for states. In other words, private actors are not creating self-regulatory realms that are outside the reach of states. Instead, they are increasingly coming to serve as vectors of state influence† (p. 16). In the countries, where the power of government is sufficient for the public to trust it and to respect it, the Internet cannot but serve the means of promoting the state political, social, cultural and economic positions. Moreover, the level of self-regulation in these states is surprisingly aligned with the high degree of governmental control towards the Cyberspace users’ behavior. The U. S. policy was initially aimed at providing the Internet users with the opportunities for self-regulation. This opportunity was never anticipated to challenge any state authority and was a purposeful step of the governmental structures. When the governmental authority is supposed to be challenged by the Cyberspace, such claims are at least misleading. As long as they are connected with the self-regulation of the Internet, they are easily denied; the self-regulation of the Cyberspace is gradually disappearing and is being replaced by the limits both democratic and non-democratic governments set onto the private actors and the objects they try to access (Farrell 16). This is why, the current political conditions and the current (surely, powerful) position of the Internet does not allow stating that the Cyberspace challenges the power of government. Conclusion The issue of the Cyberspace challenging the power of the Government should be objectively considered. At first glance, these claims may seem relevant, but obviously, the Cyberspace cannot challenge the power of Government for the following reasons: 1. In powerful developed democratic societies the Government possesses efficient methods of regulating the Cyberspace individuals; the Internet is viewed as the means of promoting the influence of the Government, and not challenging it. 2. In underdeveloped and young states the Internet seems to challenge the centralized power, when population views it as an alternative and more reliable source of information. However, such situation is the proof of the government’s weakness and the underdevelopment of the state power as such; definitely, the Internet cannot challenge something that does not exist or is at the initial stage of its development. Works cited Boas, T. C. Weaving the Authoritarian Web: The Control of Internet Use in Non-Democratic Regimes. University of California, Berkeley, 2005. Drezner, D. W. Weighing the Scales: the Internet’s Effect on State-Society Relations. University of Chicago, 2005. Farrell, H. â€Å"Regulating Information Flows: States, Private Actors, and E-Commerce†. Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci. 9 (2006): 353-74. Farrel, H. The Political Economy of the Internet and E-Commerce. Draft Book Chapter. Kobrin, S. J. â€Å"Neomedivalism and the Postmodern Digital World Economy†. The Journal of International Affairs, Spring (1998): 361-86. Lessig, L. Architecting for Control. Lecture Given at the Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna, AS, 2000.

Caribbean Sociology Essay

OVERVIEW Every discourse has a context. Every discourse has a motive. The Sociology that developed in 19th century France was a response to the social crisis that was experienced there at that time. The Sociology that developed in 19th century France had a context. The man who is considered to be the founding father of Sociology, Auguste Comte was convinced that a science of society was possible and would be capable of reconstructing French society. The major problematic of France in the 19th century was the need to reconstruct French society. Thus, the motive of 19th century European Sociology was to develop principles that would guide the reconstruction of France. It is extremely important to recognize that Auguste Comte was motivated by the need to make a contribution to the development of his society. As sociologists of the Caribbean, we cannot overlook this critical component of sociological discourse. Sociologists of the Caribbean must focus on making a contribution to the upliftment of the people of the Caribbean. In order to do this, we must identify the major problematic of the region i.e. the context upon which a genuine sociology of the Caribbean is built. Caribbean Sociologists can make a positive contribution to the development of the region. However, in order to this, they must adopt a highly critical perspective. We cannot continue to engage in what Holmes and Crossley (2004) refer to as the â€Å"uncritical, intercultural transfer of knowledge and models of development†. While sociological models of the Caribbean (plural, creole, plantation society theses) focus on the outer-structural features of the Caribbean reality, it is important to appreciate that Caribbean society is  reflected in a powerful way in the consciousness of Caribbean people. The peculiarity and complexity of the reality that is the Caribbean lies in the fact that making sense of the Caribbean is not simply about unravelling the denouement of social structure; moreso, it is about a peculiar and complex experience. The Caribbean experience is about human beings struggling to find a sense of place. This comes out powerfully in the work of Derek Walcott. I n the poem â€Å"A Far Cry From Africa†, Walcott writes: â€Å"I who am poisoned with the blood of both, where shall I turn divided to the vein? I who have cursed the drunken officer of British rule, how choose I between this Africa and the English tongue I love? I betray them both or give back what they give? How can I face such slaughter and be cool? How can I turn from Africa and live?† Derek Walcott’s work must be seen as a response to his experience of the Caribbean and as such must be regarded as sociological. Sociology is a response to social conditions. It does not have to be a science. It has to be true. We need to examine the Caribbean reality through pure lenses. The Caribbean region is an invaded space – a space invaded by capitalism. The notion invaded suggests that there is a fundamental difference between a genuine capitalist state and one that has been invaded. The Caribbean is yet to enjoy the benefits of capitalism as derived by real capitalist states such as the United States of America and Great Britain. It is safe to contend that the Caribbean is not a real capitalist space. The Caribbean is an end product of capitalism Mark Figueroa (2007) argued that the enigma of the Caribbean lies in the fact that the region has always been associated with capitalism. How then can we describe that space that has always been associated with capitalism? Related to the notion of invaded space is the notion of distorted space. A distorted social space refers to that which is characterised by multiple distortions and contradictions. The idea of distorted space has significant implications for the human beings that inhabit that space. Do we expect that the human beings of a distorted social space to have a healthy consciousness? Caribbean society was born out of oppression. Slavery was an oppressive  institution and therefore had a destructive effect on the human being. Slavery did not serve to humanise. Slavery dehumanised. We must come to terms with this fact – slavery had a dehumanising effect on Caribbean people. The question is: what have we done to rehumanise Caribbean people? Our issue in the Caribbean is to reconstruct the human being whose social and psychological orientation has been built on the legacy of an oppressive and dehumanizing system. The notions plural society, plantation society and creole society underscore the preoccupation of Caribbean social scientists with the structure of society. What we need to be concerned about is not simply the structure of Caribbean society but rather the state of the human being in the Caribbean. We should have developed perspectives on how to reconstruct the human being in the Caribbean. In so doing we would have been true to our context. In so doing, we would have contributed immensely to the progress of the region. It was Professor Hilary Beckles (2004) who said that the situation in the Caribbean is grave. He went on to say that we have not had economic growth in the region for twenty years. He therefore asked a very serious question: â€Å"What are we to make of our history?† I ask, what is the nature of the Caribbean development problem? THE INNER INNERNNER-DYNAMICS OF THE CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT PROBLEM The development problem of the Caribbean extends beyond the parameters of Economics. It emerges from a peculiar set of historico-psychological conditions. Non-economic factors therefore represent major components of the Caribbean development equation. Don Marshall’s (1998) examination of the West-Indian development experience illustrates the critical role of non-economic factors. Marshall argues that the key economic players –the planters, the merchants and the royalists had no real stake in the transformation of the region. It was not in the interest of these key players to transform the local economy. Rather, it was in the expansion of  the commercial sphere of the colonial economy that the planter-merchant elite could reproduce and entrench itself. The behaviour of the plantermerchant elite in West-Indian society is no doubt peculiar. It portrays the planter-merchant elite as a class motivated not solely by the need for capital accumulation but rather by the need to preserve its position of dominance. This paper contends that people of distorted social spaces do act in opposition to themselves. We now examine the link between capitalism and a poverty of consciousness. I refer to a study I conducted in 1998. The title – Dependency in a Banana Producing community in rural St. Lucia: A micro-level Sociological Investigation. The main aim of the study was to unmask the meanings that banana farmers attached to banana farming. CAPITALISM AND CONSCIOUSNESS Introduction The Shift from Sugar to Bananas in St.lucia  Caribbean societies are very unfortunate in the sense that they do not ‘own their spaces’. While capitalism developed naturally in Europe, capitalism invaded our space at a time when we were not ready for it. Invasions such as these do not facilitate the natural progression of the consciousness of a people. The introduction of the banana industry into the St. Lucian economy in the early 1950’s represented a significant historical moment. It was the first successful cash crop since slavery. Once again, the space that we refer to as the Caribbean was invaded by capitalist interests. It was the post-second world war period when Britain had lost its hegemony of the world. Consequently, it became more expensive for Britain to import fruit from America. Britain then encouraged its colonies to produce bananas for the British market. At the time of the introduction of the banana industry, St. Lucia had a vibrant peasantry whose efforts resulted in a relatively diversified agricultural sector. Casimir and Acosta (1980) note:  mono-production was not as acute in St.Lucia as in the other West-Indian islands. The country enjoyed a comfortable position as far as the production  of food was concerned.  The radical shift from sugar to bananas that occurred in the late 1950’s was possible through the existence of a vibrant peasantry. Elsie Le Franc (1980) noted St. Lucia’s uniqueness in that it was the only Caribbean island to have switched completely from one monocrop to another. In 1951, sugar represented 47% of the total value of St.Lucia’s exports, ten years later however, sugar represented a meager 1.3% of total exports. Plantation development in St.Lucia was relatively poor due to the instability created by the fourteen wars between France and Britain for its possession. As a result, land was available for the ex-slaves to squat upon rather than work for low wages. The planters were therefore forced to adopt the metayage system that allowed them to reap the benefits of labour without paying wages. Through the metayage system, peasants worked a plot of land, paying rent in the form of produce. This opportunity allowed the peasant class to develop a sort of independent spirit from the early stages of emancipation. Apart from being suitable to the poor economic situation of the planter class, the system of metayage was also suited to the orientation of the rural population. Peter Adrien (1990) notes the strong sentimental attachment to the land and the practice of communal ownership. By the late 1950’s peasant production had replaced plantation production in St. Lucia. It was therefore the rise of the peasant class that enabled the radical shift from sugar to bananas in St. Lucia. At that crucial point in St.Lucia’s history when a vibrant peasantry had overthrown the planter class, a banana industry invaded the possibility of the emergence of an autonomous peasant class that could have evolved into a true capitalist class. The invasion of the banana industry disturbed the movement towards the establishment of a diversified agricultural sector in St.lucia. Consciousness and the Banana Experience It was discovered that the banana farmers under study attached a very special sort of significance to money. For them, money was not simply about the ability to satisfy  material needs and wants. Rather, money performed a vital function within the  context of the ‘denuded self’. The latter was confirmed by the fact that these banana farmers relied on external stimulants such as alcohol and marijuana. In fact, alcohol was the best selling commodity of the community. The research also revealed that the banana farmers under study saw themselves as neglected by society, they did not feel part of the society. They said to me that the general feeling in the society was that Castries, the capital was St. Lucia. They felt alienated particularly with regard to the language. The formal language in St. Lucia was English while the language of the peasant was creole. The idea that farmers would do anything for money was extremely pervasive and is linked to the idea of the ‘denuded self’. This craving for money seemed to be  associated with isolation and neglect, as money helped to bridge the gap between the conditions of their existence and those to which they aspired. There was also a kind of nakedness about the banana farmer that needed to be clothed as banana farming was perceived to be a low-status activity. As a low status activity, banana farming was regarded not for its own worth but rather for the money that was associated with it. It was therefore not difficult to predict that the collapse of the banana industry would lead to the direct movement of the young farmers in particular into the illegal drug business. In addition, a significant proportion migrated to neighbouring Martinique where they felt at home as far as language was concerned. It was concluded that while the farmers were earning a steady income and while we celebrated the importance of the banana industry to the economy using proclamations such as â€Å"the banana industry is the bedrock/mainstay of the society†, banana farming created among the farmers a false sense of selfhood, one based on money/materialism. Their notion of self was based on  their ability to possess material things; their notion of self revolved around money. It cannot be said that this is linked in any direct way to an upliftment of consciousness. It is unfortunate that the development discourse of the Caribbean does not adequately deal with the component of consciousness. Development has to do with the evolution of consciousness in the positive direction. When genuine development takes place in a society, it results in the upliftment of the consciousness of the people of that society. As stated earlier, the Caribbean region is characterized by a poverty of consciousness. What form then should Caribbean sociology take? The work of the sociologist of the Caribbean must be linked to the major problematic of the Caribbean. Caribbean sociology must be fundamentally different from other sociology. Caribbean sociology must be about raising the consciousness of Caribbean people. SOCIOSOCIO-POETRY As a Sociologist of the Caribbean, I have identified a context and a motive for Caribbean sociology. The context is what I refer to as a poverty of consciousness. The motive therefore is to raise the consciousness of Caribbean people. My response so far has been the development of a new field – what I refer to as Socio-Poetry. Socio-Poetry is much more than poetry that is stimulated by sociological issues – the issues of poverty, crime, domestic violence, HIV/ AIDS, dysfunctional social institutions, unemployment and so on. Socio-Poetry is also about re-defining the boundaries of research and knowledge-making arguing for the greater use of imagination in capturing the complex and peculiar contours of the Caribbean. Socio-Poetry emerges from the conviction that the complexity and peculiarity of Caribbean society cannot be captured in its entirety by scientific methodology. Socio-Poetry offers a critical perspective. With regard to a critical perspective, in looking at â€Å"Research Development Initiatives in St. Lucia†, Holmes and Crossley (2004) argue that the development agenda in small states such as those of the Caribbean lacks the critical dimension. Holmes and Crossley therefore make a case for forms of knowledge such as music, dance and art that are in harmony with the socio-cultural reality i.e. knowledge that is sensitive to the meanings, values and processes underlying events and actions. In addition, Dr. Bhoendradat Tewarie laments  the lack of attention paid to critical thinking in the Caribbean. Speaking of the extent to which critical thinking is being practiced at the University of the West-Indies, Dr. Tewarie contends: †¦.I suspect it’s not as widespread as it needs to be and perhaps we are not as persistent at it as we should be given the current environment. Dr. Tewarie also argues that by writing about our own situation in the region, we will develop perspectives and insights about ourselves to share with others in the rest of the world.  Socio-Poetry is a step in that direction. Socio-Poetry is an alternative form of knowledge that represents the blend of sociological analysis and imaginative insight. Socio-Poetry is about writing about the Caribbean in an interesting way in order to reach a wider audience. To date, I have published two works of Socio-Poetry. My first work was called ‘SEEDS’ – that was a response to the crisis of identity of the Caribbean. ‘SEEDS’, was meant for adolescents and it was also aimed at portraying the role of the arts in human development. The Harvest is about consciousness-raising. It is about writing about the  Caribbean in interesting ways so as to stimulate dialogue, debate and further critical analysis . Please allow me to expose you to a socio-poetic portrait of the Caribbean from â€Å"The Harvest†: LICKS Five women at the street corner licking ice-cream, strawberry flavour. Five licking women clutching cones in the sun. Tongues racing against the disappearing hills. Licks for banana, licks for cane-sugar. And then the hands, the hands that served tongues, fall below the waists defeated, leaving five licking women in anger, searching for sweetness on cracked lips. Tongues never win. They’re trapped by teeth that delight in tasteless carriers of cream. Licks for banana, licks for cane-sugar. Five licking women stranded at the street corner. They’ve lost the way to the river, the sun burns. More ice-cream on a strawberry streetcorner. Licks for banana, licks for cane-sugar. The poem ‘LICK S’, examines the situation of the Caribbean in the global economy. It highlights the way in which we reinforce our status of dependency by being the tongues of the world, ready to ‘lick’ foreign produced goods at the expense of our own development. Essentially, the poem speaks to the notion that we are both the ‘lickers’ of the world as well as  those who get ‘licks’. Dependency is a fundamental fact of life in the Caribbean and we cannot wait till students get to the university level to expose them to it. Therefore, while, we may not be able to teach the work of Lloyd Best and that of Andre Gunder Frank to Secondary school students we can expose them to LICKS paying great attention to its theme. In so doing, we would be raising the consciousness of our secondary level students on the dependency status of the Caribbean. It is extremely important to expose students of  that age group to these themes as they are integral to who we are and as many of these students will not move on to university.  Through socio-poetry, a sociologist of the Caribbean is not merely focusing on teaching at the University level but is developing ways of taking her analyses of Caribbean society to the lower levels of the education system. The motive is to raise the consciousness of Caribbean people. A sociology of the Caribbean must be a practical project, one with a specific, practical purpose; one that is linked directly to the major problematic of the Caribbean. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adrien, Peter. 1990. Capitalism, Metayage and Development: A shifting shifting Pattern of Development in Dennery, St. Lucia, 18401840-1959. 1959. Masters Thesis, University of the WestWestIndies, Consortium graduate School of Social Sciences, Jamaica. Beckford, George. 1967. The WestWest-Indian Banana Industry. Industry. Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research. Casimir. J and Y. Acosta. 1982 . Social Structural changes in St. Lucia. Holmes Keith and Michael Crossley (2004). â€Å"Whose Knowledge, Whose Values? The Contribution of Local Knowledge to Education Policy Processes: A Case Study of Research Development Initiatives in the Small State of St. Lucia. Lewis, Arthur. 1993. The Evolution of the Peasantry in the British WestWest-Indies. London Tewarie, Bhoendradat (2004), â€Å"Critical Thinking†. St. Augustine News, October 2003 – March 2004:10. 2004:10. Walcott, Derek. Collected Poems. Faber and Faber, London. 1996. Walcott, Derek. Omeros. Farar Straus Giroux, New York. 1991.